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07/23/2010 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FC Dallas has not lost on the road since April and puts its six-match road undefeated streak on the line Saturday at Toronto FC, which is one of three Major League Soccer teams still unbeaten at home.
FC Dallas (6-2-7) lost to Red Bull New York in mid-April, but has two wins and four draws in its last six road matches. Dallas won at Houston and Chivas USA, and has scored in every road game this season.
Coach Schellas Hyndman's club managed just eight points on the road last year, but already has 10 points away from home. Dallas doesn't have a magic formula, according to Hyndman, but the club does try to take the home side out of their "comfort zone."
"We go after teams and take away that home field [advantage], that comfort zone," Hyndman said. "It seems to be working."
"We know if we play our game in our system, teams are going to have to adjust to us if we stick to what we do well," Dallas defender Heath Pearce said. "I think we've implemented that well on the road."
Although Toronto (6-5-4) is unbeaten in eight home matches, Dallas has managed to get results in its previous visits to Toronto. Dallas is 1-1-1 at BMO Field in its history.
Dallas enters the match after an impressive 2-0 win over Real Salt Lake, which snapped the defending MLS Cup champions' 10-match undefeated streak. Brek Shea and Atiba Harris scored for Dallas.
Hyndman will be forced to make a minor change this week, as Bruno Guardo will likely make his second start of the season for the injured Dax McCarty.
"He's just a guy that we have a lot of confidence in and he knows the system well," McCarty said of Guarda. "He knows what Schellas wants out of him and he has the trust of everyone."
The Los Angeles Galaxy preserved their undefeated home mark with a 2-2 draw on Thursday against the San Jose Earthquakes, and Real Salt Lake is also unbeaten at home.
Toronto had its eight-match unbeaten streak snapped last weekend in a 2-1 loss to the Philadelphia Union, as Sebastian Le Toux converted a penalty in injury time.
TFC played England's Bolton on Wednesday, falling 4-3 on penalty kicks after a 1-1 tie. Toronto FC debuted its recent signing, Spanish striker Mista, against Bolton and he's set to make his MLS debut against Dallas. Mista, a Designated Player, assisted on Toronto's goal against Bolton.
Toronto is third in the Eastern Conference and Dallas is third in the Western Conference, making a result this weekend crucial as both teams enter the start half of their schedules.
<< Bacsinszky, Meusburger advance in Bad Gastein
Bad Gastein, Austria (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded Timea Bacsinszky of
Switzerland and Austrian veteran Yvonne Meusburger were among the quarterfinal
winners Friday at the Gastein Ladies tennis tournament.
Bacsinszky, the highest-rem
<< Cavaliers sign 2009 first rounder Eyenga
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed
guard/forward Christian Eyenga.
Per team policy, no details of the deal were announced.
The 21-year-old Eyenga was the Cavs' first-round choice and the 30th o
<< Canucks D Sami Salo tears Achilles' tendon
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -Vancouver Canucks defenseman Sami Salo has torn his Achilles' tendon and is out indefinitely.The team said Friday that Salo was hurt ``while training'' and would not comment further. But a report in his native Finla
<< Browns make it official with McCoy
Berea, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Cleveland Browns made it official on Friday
and signed quarterback Colt McCoy to a multi-year contract.
Terms of the deal for the former University of Texas star were not disclosed,
but the Cleveland Plai
Steelers ink Tomlin to extension >>
Pittsburgh, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Steelers extended the
contract of head coach Mike Tomlin through at least 2012, the team announced
on Friday.
In addition, the deal calls for an option year for 2013.
"Mike Tomli
Orioles activate Roberts from DL >>
Baltimore, MD (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles have reinstated second
baseman Brian Roberts from the 60-day disabled list.
He had been sidelined since April 10 because of an abdominal strain suffered
while stealing second base in
Reutimann signs contract extension with MWR >>
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Reutimann has signed a multi-year
contract extension with Michael Waltrip Racing to remain as driver of the
No.00 Toyota through the 2012 Sprint Cup Series season.
Reutimann and team owner
Mainz goalie Muller out with torn ligament >>
Mainz, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mainz goalkeeper Heinz Muller tore ligaments
in his right knee Thursday and will be sidelined for an extended period.
Muller was injured in a collision with Benjamin Auer in Thursday's friendly
against A
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
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